


Carrying On

by clio_jlh



Category: Project Runway
Genre: First Time, Friends to Lovers, Gay Male Character, LGBTQ Character, Light-Hearted, M/M, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, RPF, Rare Characters, Rare Fandoms, Rare Pairing, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-16
Updated: 2006-03-16
Packaged: 2017-10-03 22:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clio_jlh/pseuds/clio_jlh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim has been sort of alone for a while now.  All the boys are half in love with him but Chloe has a definite idea of who would be the best fit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carrying On

**Author's Note:**

> After I'd written the first draft of this story, [](http://wordplay.livejournal.com/profile)[**wordplay**](http://wordplay.livejournal.com/) pointed me to an interview with Tim Gunn at out.com, where Tim says he hasn't really been with anyone in two decades. I think it was that bit of loneliness that I picked up on here though of course the backstory is entirely my own invention. Thanks to Carrie and [](http://sisterpandora.livejournal.com/profile)[**sisterpandora**](http://sisterpandora.livejournal.com/) for looking it over.

"Emmett, do you have a crush on Tim Gunn?" Chloe asked, apropos of nothing that Emmett could think of.

"What?" Emmett replied, not looking up from his sewing. "What makes you say that?"

Chloe of course was just sewing along on the skirt as if she'd asked him about his favorite movie. "Oh, your expression when he was talking to us about the dress."

"Everyone wants praise from Tim Gunn," Emmett said, turning the jacket around to pass it through the machine in the other direction.

"Yeah, it's more than that though. You think he's hot."

"Everyone thinks Tim Gunn is sexy, too."

Chloe looked over. "I hate how fast you can set sleeves, Emmett. It's not fair. Maybe you should do something about it."

"The sleeves?"

"No!" Chloe said, laughing. "Tim Gunn!"

"Oh, Chloe I don't think so. He's my teacher; it wouldn't be appropriate."

"He's not your teacher now. When the show is over you should call him."

Emmett paused for a moment, finishing the right sleeve before glancing up at Chloe, who looked at him as though "no" was not a possible answer. "All right," he said.

"Good," Chloe replied. "You better."

"Yes ma'am," Emmett said, before starting the other sleeve.

* * *

"So who was Mark?" Chloe asked Kara as they tidied up Emmett's tiny kitchen after watching the first episode of the show.

"He was the head of interior design at Parsons," Kara said, dumping the remaining chips into the trash. "He and Tim were together, oh, twenty years? Until Mark died of lung cancer a year ago."

"Huh," Chloe said. "And Tim has been alone since then?"

"So far as I know," Kara replied. "Maybe he wasn't ready."

Chloe walked out into the living room to get more of the paper plates and saw that all of Emmett's other friends had left. Emmett was sitting on the couch talking to Tim, who was staring at him in a way that Chloe was sure her friend didn't notice. She sensed Kara walking up behind her.

"Do you think he's ready now?" she asked Kara.

* * *

"Emmett called yesterday. He says hello," Chloe said as they pinned her mic back on. It had "slipped" while she, Tim, and the camera crew were walking from her house out to her garage/workspace.

"Oh, that's kind of him," Tim replied.

"You should go see his shop. I saw it when I was in town for the premiere; it's really coming along."

Tim cocked his head. "I was going to go to the opening . . . "

"I think he'd really appreciate it, Tim, if you dropped by before that."

Tim nodded. "Perhaps I will do that."

"Good," Chloe replied, as the director called out to roll sound.

* * *

Emmett was sitting in the middle of the floor, thinking about jackets, when he heard a knock on the door. "We're not open yet," he called out.

"Emmett?" the muffled voice answered. "It's Tim Gunn!"

He hopped up quickly, brushing off his backside, and opened the door. "Hello!" he said, receiving the warm hug. "If I'd known you were coming I would have turned on the heat; there's just a space heater I'm afraid."

"No, that's fine, that's fine," Tim said as he walked into the room. "I should have called but I just had an impulse." He smiled at Emmett as he took off his hat and gloves.

"Here, let me have those," Emmett said, taking Tim's winter things and placing them on a cleared off space on the counter. "Well," he asked, "what do you think?"

Tim walked around, then stood in the middle, arms akimbo. "Emmett, it's darling. It's a good size, wonderful location, not too many things, not too little." He looked over at Emmett, who stood leaning back against the counter, arms and legs crossed. "I'm sure it will do quite well."

"Thank you." Emmett watched as Tim wandered about the store again, looking more carefully at the half-finished displays of clothing still wrapped in plastic. "Um, there was no appropriate time to say this on the show but I was very sorry to hear about Mark."

Tim kept his eyes on the clothing. "Oh, thank you. You know, he was the one who convinced me to do the show?"

"Really?"

Tim nodded, still not looking up. "By then they'd done all they could, all the operations and treatments and he said he didn't want me spending the summer hovering over him. He said, 'Go forth and have adventures and then come home and tell me all about them!'"

"So you did."

"So I did and he was right. He was always right. He was just stubborn enough to last until the first show aired." Tim stopped for a moment, smiling a little, and cleared his throat. "It made for a busy spring with the show and Parsons. Work is the best therapy."

"And since then?"

Tim looked up. "When you came into the audition I was flooded with memories. I was so young when I taught you. Mark and I had only just moved in together and we were in love and were going to take on the world!" Tim took a deep breath and smiled a little. "Until I saw you all I remembered was the cancer days. So I thank you for that."

Emmett nodded but said nothing.

Tim started fiddling with a plastic tie on one of the coats. "You know, Mark always liked you. He called you 'that tall cool drink of water'."

Emmett chuckled. "I'm flattered. Mark had very high standards."

"Interior designers want everything around them to be beautiful," Tim said. "Mark was very dictatorial like that." He looked around the room again. "It really is a darling little shop."

Emmett took a deep breath and gathered his courage. "Tim, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see your shop."

"You have your invitation to the opening," Emmett said, pushing up off the counter and moving toward Tim. "Why are you here now?"

"I did see Chloe last week and she said you'd appreciate an early visit," Tim added, standing up a bit straighter as Emmett approached.

"That's why you're here?" he asked. "Because Chloe told you to come?"

Tim looked Emmett in the eye, finally, and said, "No. I'd wanted to see you but I was nervous and I let myself think—well, it doesn't matter; she said very little except that you would like a visit." He had to look up, as Emmett was standing almost in his personal space.

"Now that you're here, are you glad you came?"

"I think I will be," Tim said.

Emmett grinned; that was all the opening he needed. He leaned down, intending to hold back and kiss Tim gently, respectfully, the way he should be kissed, but Tim had other ideas and before Emmett realized it they were up against the wall making out like horny teenagers.

Clearly Tim was a pouncer.

They broke off, gasping for breath because they were neither of them teenagers anymore. Emmett reached up to where Tim's hand rested on his shoulder. "You're cold. We should go someplace warm, get a drink," he said, his voice low and husky, then turned Tim's hand to place a kiss on the palm.

Tim smiled. "My apartment is warm and has alcohol."

Emmett barked out a laugh. "Why Tim Gunn! You bold devil!"

Tim's only response was a smug grin.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"What indeed," Tim said.

* * *

Kara and Chloe sat on Emmett's couch, spent. It had been a long damn week, with all the work and the show under the tent and the parties and the judging and the win and everything that came with that, so it was nice to just be back with close friends, watching the show. The dynamic, of course, was very different. The sting of watching her own elimination show was somewhat lessened by all the positive press Kara had received for her decoy collection. Chloe's mind was distracted by what she was going to do next. Kara's new fiancé was out in the hall taking a call from his brother. And Emmett and Tim, who'd been sweetly touching all evening, had insisted on tidying up, which was taking a suspiciously long time.

"Oi!" Kara shouted. "What are you two doing in there?"

They heard a sound from the kitchen.

"Was that _giggling_?" Chloe asked.

The women got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen to see Emmett and Tim leaning against the sink and each other, laughing.

"My lord, you haven't cleaned up a single thing," Chloe said.

"This is all your fault," Kara said to Chloe.

"My fault?" Chloe asked. "All I did was—"

"Chloe," Emmett scolded.

"No, no," Tim said, "I'm very interested. What did you do, Chloe?"

"Well, you and Emmett were talking on the phone all the time but you were talking about me and Kara and not about each other! You had to be face to face so I told you to go see him."

"You knew Emmett was interested in me?" Tim asked.

Chloe and Kara nodded.

"How did you know I was interested in him?"

"The way you looked at him," Chloe said.

"What if I hadn't gone to his shop or nothing had happened?"

"I would have knocked your heads together when I got back to New York."

Emmett put his head in his hands, blushing, but Tim just laughed. "I don't doubt that. Well, Chloe, I don't know how to thank you."

Chloe wagged a finger at them both. "Don't fuck up!"

"Yes ma'am," Tim said.

* * *

After the girls left, Emmett collapsed onto the couch next to Tim.

"That was rude of us," Tim said. "Giggling in the kitchen when we were supposed to be cleaning."

"I'm sure they understand."

"We should throw an engagement party for Kara, at my apartment."

"Catered, please," Emmett said. "I hate cleaning up."

"So I noticed," Tim replied.

"In fact," Emmett said, "I think we should leave it until morning."

"Emmett—" Tim began.

"I can think of things I'd much rather do right now," Emmett said, tucking his head down and kissing Tim's neck.

Tim made a show of reluctance. "I suppose. We certainly wouldn't want to displease Chloe," he said, which got Emmett laughing all over again.

* * *


End file.
